Oil spill events | Monday

June 22, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

A summary of events Monday, Day 62 of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill:

Another BILL

The Obama administration has sent another multimillion-dollar bill to BP and other parties being held responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The latest bill, the third in the nine weeks since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig collapsed, is for $51.4 million. The White House said in a statement Monday night that BP and others already have paid the first two bills, totaling nearly $71 million.

NEW AGENCY

A former federal prosecutor took over Monday as director of a new government agency that oversees offshore drilling and other oil and gas development. Michael R. Bromwich, 56, a former assistant U.S. attorney and Justice Department inspector general, will lead a reorganization of the agency formerly known as the Minerals Management Service. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed an order renaming the agency the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The agency, which both regulates the oil and gas industry and collects billions in royalties from it, will be known as the Bureau of Ocean Energy, or BOE for short, Salazar said.

States’ CLAIMS

Attorneys general in 11 Atlantic Coast states asked BP PLC for assurances that legitimate claims from their residents will be paid if oil from the massive Gulf of Mexico spill reaches their shores. The prosecutors also said in a letter sent Monday that they want BP to preserve all documents related to the spill and response. The documents could be needed if any of the states were to sue.

DEMOCRATIC AD

The Democratic National Committee has unveiled a new television ad that calls Republicans oil company loyalists who would rather apologize to BP than hold it accountable for the massive spill in the Gulf. The 30-second ad started running Monday on national and Washington cable stations. It includes a clip of Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Texas apologizing to BP for what he called a $20 billion “shakedown.” Company executives had met with President Barack Obama and agreed to a compensation fund for those affected by the spill. Barton later took back the apology.

BP CEO CANCELS

BP chief executive Tony Hayward canceled his appearance at a London oil conference Tuesday, citing his commitment to the Gulf of Mexico relief effort. The announcement Monday that Hayward will skip today’s session of the World National Oil Companies Congress follows stinging criticism of Hayward’s weekend outing to the Isle of Wight to see his boat compete in a high-profile English yacht race.

Source: Associated Press